MINUTES
Graduate & Professional Student Assembly
Monday, January 23, 2012
Bache Auditorium, Malott Hall
5:30–7:00 P.M.

I. Welcome & Introductions, 2 min.

E. Cortens called the meeting to order at 5:34 P.M.

Voting Members Present: K. Albert, B. Alkemeyer, S. An, N. Baran, Y. Chen, J. Ciecholewski, E. Cortens, C. Ferkinhoff, M. Hawkins, Y. Izrayelit, J. Keach, A. Nash, R. Robbins, M. Tootill

Voting Members Absent: R. Adra, A. Elliott, E. Smith (excused), M. White, C. Wilson

II. Approval of the Minutes

1. November 28th, 2011, 1 min.

The minutes from November 28th, 2011 were approved with no objections.

III. Reports of Officers and Committee Updates, 20 min.

1. Executive Committee (E. Cortens)

E. Cortens said there has been some developments with Slope Day, which would be discussed by C. Heckman later. He emphasized this semester is more open and encouraged any members of the GPSA who have suggestions on possible topics to email him or the listserv.

2. Appropriations (C. Heckman)

C. Heckman reported prior to break he received an email from the Slope Day Board stating they would be turning down the by-line funding offered by the GPSA. He then explained he and the Slope Day Board are attempting to make a deal which would offer a discounted admission structure to graduate students. C. Heckman then opened the floor for questions. E. Cortens explained the negotiation with the Slope Day Board would happen with a change in the by-line and then would have to go to the voting board, who would either accept or reject the proposal. He stated the Slope Day Board would have to vote on the proposal as well and there are three possible outcomes: the policy remains the same, the graduate students are given a discount price, or the Slope Day Board does not take the money and therefore charges full admission for graduate students.

W. Kreuser asked C. Heckman what the Slope Day Board’s attitude is toward the proposed discount ticket idea. C. Heckman responded some numbers for possible prices have been thrown around, but no final decision has been reached by the Slope Day Board. He stated the price could be anywhere between $5-$10. E. Newbury asked what the alumni ticket rate is? C. Heckman said alumni currently pay $25 and must pre-register for tickets; however, he does not anticipate this being the procedure for graduate students considering there is a larger population of graduate students who will attend the event compared to alumni.

Finally, B. Alkemeyer asked if anyone in the administration had to approve charging admission. E. Cortens explained the chain of administration and how anywhere along the chain of review, someone can say no and the decision could be overruled. E. Cortens suggested this question be posed to Susan Murphy. He then asked for any further questions and upon hearing none moved to the next order of business.

3. Communications (S. An)

S. An said the GPSA has been approved for access to all graduate and professional emails. He explained this means once a month the GPSA newsletter can go out to all graduate and professional students. S. An stated this allows the GPSA Buzz to reach a much larger group. The next addition of the GPSA Buzz will be coming out around Friday, February 3. D. Evensen commended S. An for his work on accomplishing this large feat. The floor was then open for discussion. C. Heckman asked if the mass email will be one email a month or only when important information needs to be distributed. He also mentioned if the newsletter is sent to all the graduate and professional students then people may opt out whereas if emails sent out are only when important information or events are occurring than people would be less likely to opt out. S. An said that currently the emails to everybody will be the GPSA Buzz and every other issue will only be sent to the people who originally signed up to receive the newsletter.

4. Finance Commission (M. Tootill)

M. Tootill stated she had a conversation with E. Cortens and the Office of Assemblies regarding using the supplement funds. She explained at the beginning of December there was only $11,000 left to fund groups and there were a lot of applications coming in. The Finance Commission managed to obtain a grant of $30,000 to supplement funds, which meant many applications in December were able to be approved along with some applications that were previously turned down earlier in the year. M. Tootill said allocations were $19,603.94 and that $23,680.92 is currently left. The next deadline for applications is Friday, February 3. M. Tootill said she anticipates all of the $23,000 will be used in a few weeks time; however, if there is still money left the funding deadline will be extended. C. Heckman asked where the reserve money came from? M. Tootill said it was from the GPSAFC reserve funds but there is still a large amount left in the reserve. E. Cortens also noted the reserve monies have never been used in the past.

5. Student Advocacy (R. Robbins)

R. Robbins said an event was held December 9th entitled “Dine and Discuss.” The event provided a catered meal for seventy-five students and administrators. At the event, surveys were given to the guests and R. Robbins explained now it is the committee’s task to code the data. She stated the next task for the committee is to identify another issue to target. R. Robbins said she may poll or survey the GPSA members at the next meeting for possible ideas.

6. Graduate & Professional Student Programming Board (Y. Chen)

Y. Chen gave an overview of the upcoming events. February 2nd there will be a Grad’s Night Out and on February 8th there is an Interschool Mixer scheduled at the Big Red Barn. February 10th there will be a celebration at the Big Red Barn for their 20th anniversary as a center for graduate students. The party will be 90’s themed and will include food and decorations. Friday, April 27th, the Grad Ball will be held at the Lake Watch Inn in Lansing, NY. Y. Chen welcomed anyone interested in helping plan the Ball to email her.

E. Cortens then asked if there were any last minute additions to the reports section of the agenda. D. Evensen reported the Board of Trustees approved the increased tuition rates and said the rates have not gone up for graduate students. K. Albert reported on the University Assembly meeting and said the Codes and Judicial Committee is currently working on Cornell University’s compliance with Title IX, specifically in regards to sexual violence.

IV. New Business

1. Resolution 8, Resolution Forming an Ad Hoc Olin Speaker Selection Committee (E. Cortens) 15 min.

E. Cortens explained the Graduate school had requested the GPSA become more involved with the process of choosing the Olin Speakers. E. Cortens explained Resolution 8 proposes the creation of a committee whose responsibility would be to help choose a speaker. The resolution lays out selection criteria the committee must adhere to when choosing a speaker. E. Cortens explained this section of the resolution could not be amended as it was written by the Graduate School. E. Cortens then asked if anyone would be interested in joining this committee. The floor was opened for discussion regarding the resolution. W. Kreuser asked who is currently in charge of picking the speaker and what their thoughts are regarding the creation of a selection committee. E. Cortens answered the Graduate School is in charge of selecting the speaker and it was their idea to create a committee so students have a larger role in the speakers who are chosen. B. Alkemeyer questioned the wording of the criteria section of the resolution. He suggested an amendment to line 12 that would change the line into a “whereas” clause. E. Cortens asked for a second to the amendment proposed. C. Ferkinhoff seconded the amendment and with no objections the amendment passed. E. Cortens asked for any further comments and upon hearing none asked the voting members of the GPSA to vote with their placards. The resolution was passed with a vote of 13–0.

2. Resolution 9, A Joint Resolution between the GPSA and the SA Concerning the Designation of Student-Elected Seats (E. Cortens), 15 min.

E. Cortens said years ago the GPSA and the SA reached an agreement setting the division of student-elected trustees so even years a graduate student would be elected and odd years an undergraduate would be elected. Prior to this, the student-elected seats were mostly filled with undergraduates. E. Cortens explained this is a procedural resolution and the reason for it is because the resolution in the Fall 2006, which set up this system, stated there should be a reaffirmation of the resolution in Spring of 2011. D. Evensen stated this resolution was brought up now since the idea of more student representation on the Board of Trustees is being introduced. E. Cortens asked for comments and then asked the voting members to vote with their placards. The amendment passed with a final vote of 13–0.

V. Open Forum

1. Thumbnail: “abbr.” (A. Gensler), 5 min.

A. Gensler explained that Thumbnail is a new graduate club on campus. Currently, the club is comprised of mostly architects and one business student. However, anyone is welcome to join and participate. Thumbnail will be holding its first event on February 24, in the new architecture building, Milstein Hall. The club is asking people to submit 20 slides on a visual topic. Their goal is to receive a number of diverse submissions that will be presented at the event. Thumbnail’s theme is based off of Pecha Kucha’s theme of 20 images displayed in twenty seconds. The group is asking for anyone interested in presenting to submit a sampling of five slides with a short description of the theme or central idea. The topic for the presentations should focus around abbreviations, “abbr.” The members of Thumbnail encouraged the members of the GPSA to come to the event and to enter presentations. Anyone interested in presenting should contact Thumbnail at thumbnail@gmail.com.

2. Other

One member of the GPSA said there are many art studios in the basement of Risley including a pottery studio which people are able to use for a one-time activity fee.

BREAK OUT SESSION

The members of the GPSA broke out into small sections based off of the number of years they have been at Cornell Graduate School. E. Cortens suggested a few topics for the small groups to discuss including: graduate student space and community and possible topics of discussion for the upcoming meeting with Vice President Murphy and President Skorton.

Respectfully Submitted,


Claire Lender